Monday, May 9, 2011

Kitchen Tip Tuesday!

I am honored, and oh so excited to be hosting Kitchen Tip Tuesday today! Tammy's blog was one the first blogs I started reading when I began blogging - and I love her Kitchen Tip Tuesday slot. I always learn so much.

Tammy asked myself and some other amazing bloggers to host for her while she spends the month with her family. If you missed it - be sure to check out the awesome tips shared at Amy's Finer Things and Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.

One of the most frequent questions I get via email is "I don't have a bread machine or a stand mixer, can I make this bread recipe by hand?". So, my kitchen tip today is how to adapt any bread recipe to be made by hand.

While individual ingredients vary by recipe, this basic 7-step process can be applied:

Step 1: Mix ~ 1/2 C warm liquid (i.e., water or milk as directed by the recipe) and yeast together in a large bowl. Allow the yeast water mixture to sit for 2-3 minutes, until yeast is slightly foamy.

Step 2: Add in the sweetener and the salt. Continue to let the mixture rest for 1-2 minutes. If the recipe calls for eggs, oil, powdered milk, butter, etc., add those here too.

Step 3: Add the flour to the mixture, 1 C at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula as you add the flour. Alternate the flour with the remaining wet ingredients (i.e., water, milk, buttermilk, etc) until all the ingredients are in the bowl.

Step 4: Using clean hands, lightly sprinkle a little flour over a work surface and your hands. Dump the dough out onto the work surface and knead (incorporating more flour as needed) until dough is smooth. This takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes of kneading.

Step 5: Shape the smooth dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size.

Step 6: Punch down the dough (literally, make a fist and punch the dough) and then shape into a loaf. Place in a lightly greased loaf pan. Cover. Allow the dough to rise again until the dough is close to doubled, or it has risen 1-3 inches over the top of the loaf pan.

Step 7: Bake the loaf, generally at 350 degrees, until lightly browned and the loaf sounds hallow when tapped. This varies by recipe, but usually is somewhere between 30-45 minutes.

Hope that is helpful for those of you without a machine to help you bread making efforts!

Be sure to follow Kitchen Tip Tuesday over the next two weeks to see what tips some other great food bloggers have to share!

When cooking, please make sure to follow kitchen hygiene and safety -- cook meat until internal temperature is at safe levels, always check labels for allergens, and use caution in the kitchen -- I love sharing recipes, but I am not liable for damages done as a result of trying these recipes.